Issue with installing updates on Windows 8.1.

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool

Version: 6.3.9600.16384

That proves that you are using the old version of DISM.  My guess is that the message you are getting about architecture is just a bad guess that would be right normally.

I wonder what package  dism.exe  comes in?  Whatever it is didn't get applied properly.

But then, what else didn't get applied properly?   How far do you want to pursue this?

Hi Robert

The dism version gave me:

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool

Version: 6.3.9600.16384

Error: 11

You cannot service a running 64-bit operating system with a 32-bit version of DISM. 

Please use the version of DISM that corresponds to your computer's architecture.

The DISM log file can be found at C:\Windows\Logs\DISM\dism.log

When I did the Get-WindowsPackage command at the PS prompt I got 'VERBOSE: Dism PowerShell Cmdlets Version 6.3.0.0,' then the same error message as before: 'An attempt was made to load a program with an incorrect format.'

There is a copy of dism in \system32 and another in \sysWOW64. I get the same results running dism when I run dism after cd'ing to either directory.

 looks like 8.1 wasn't properly installed in the first place.

Yes.  Which then may explain your symptom because a update of  dism.exe  could be one of the things that also didn't happen properly.

See what you get from this, still in an Administrator: Windows Powershell window

It's just the first 3 lines of any dism command that we are interested in.  /version is not a supported command line option but that is a way of getting version information without getting a huge amount of unwanted help or without trying to actually do anything with it.

Ah.  Powershell  will let us do this for us too.

There should be a prompt.  Reply  Y  twice.  (Or apparently Enter twice.)   Doing that shows me both the version of DISM and the output of the command.  I suspect/hope you will see the version of DISM and then more detail for your error message.

BTW one other difference, which I assume will not be significant, is that I don't have the Azure module installed.  So my list of help files from that query ends with that last Function in the Storage module.

Good luck

Robert

Hi John

As above, when I run the diagnostic (for WUS or BITS)  I always get an error and output.txt in CheckSURLog.cab reads:

Proxy :    Direct access (no proxy server).

Last Installed Update :Windows 8.1 Update for x64-based Systems (KB2919355),05/29/2014 13:45:12

Last Displayed Message :2014-05-30 11:12:57:861 1284 1ad8 AU WARNING: Failed to get Wu Exemption info from NLM, assuming not exempt, error = 0x80070032

Language settings :en-US

bits : Stopped

wuauserv : Running

WORKGROUP :WORKGROUP

Windows Update Agent Version : Not Found

Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro SP: 0

CPU Type : x64 

OS Architecture :64-bit

When I check services, WUS and BITS are Automatic and Running.

I've tried the Win 8 boot disk and Diagnose My PC and it makes no difference.

I'm very reluctant to mess with the BIOS, but I will check the settings.

Hi Robert

PS Help *image* gives me this:

I've just noticed an anomaly in my Start screen - there's supposed to be a search icon and an on/off icon next to my name at the top right - there isn't! There' just my name as per Win 8. So it looks like 8.1 wasn't properly installed in the first place.